Author: carsonwhitford

I went back and forth over which image to choose for this post, searching ‘controversial’ and ‘complex’ ads on Google I came across an advertisement by Dove that has been taken down due to being viewed as racist. It was watching this ad that I chose to above photo of a previous ad from Dove in 2011.

On the surface, we can see three women who have used Dove products, they look happy, healthy, and vibrant. We also see a before and after image of using Dove products, the before is old, crinkly, and undesirable, the after looks healthy and like the object of ones desire. The goal of the ad is to convince you that you want to achieve skin like this.

When we get down to the nitty gritty and you realize how the women have been positioned, you kind of take a step back and think

Did they really do that?

Of all the staff that this ad must have come in contact with, they still chose to run it?

It portrays a dark, medium, and fair skinned woman in the same order as before and after. This sets it up to appear that the dark skinned woman is less desirable, the medium is neutral, and finally the fair skinned “white” woman is the picture of beauty that we want to obtain.

This paints the idea that dark skin is “dirty” and this has been a problem in the cosmetic industry for years. Most skincare products are targeted towards light skinned women, in fact many makeup lines don’t even care shades that are dark enough for some women’s skin tone. This is as if saying that dark skinned women (and men) do not deserve or need the same high quality products as all other women they are marketing towards. As a caucasian female, this is not something that I have personally had to experience, for myself every cosmetic line has plenty of shades that I can find one to match. I take this for granted. “Skin” colored does not mean caucasian, there is no boundary to what color skin is defined as. Any boundaries we have are purely a social construct that beauty brands are enabling.

What do you think about this ad? Did Dove make the wrong call?

This whole idea that glitch is an ~ a e s t h e t I c ~ has really thrown me for a curve ball.

sidenote: was writing aesthetic in this way aesthetically pleasing? I see all the cool bcm kids doing it so it must be a ~ t r e n d ~

Back to the regularly scheduled program…

It wasn’t until discovering the VaporWave glitch aesthetic that I understood how much people enjoy and value making an image imperfect. By taking a still photo and adding movement, colors, and textures we add value to it.

Here is a video I took at the beach one day, pretty basic with the snapchat time stamp on it. I would give it an 8/10 on content (I’m from small town Iowa, getting to go to the beach in March is pretty dope if you ask me) but for the aesthetics and creativity? 5/10. You could probably check the phone of every other girl studying abroad here and see an almost identical image.

Now, I have used the tool PhotoMosh to add more dimensions, I added more colors and movement. The addition of the glitch makes it look perfectly imperfect. Since we know that it has been glitched it is pleasing to the eye and elicits more of an emotional response.

McLuhan’s idea that “the way we send and receive information is more important than the information itself” can be demonstrated with this glitching effect. This brings us back to the point that the medium is the message. The two images above are the same but their delivery changes the message and how we receive it.

This is my sixth semester of university and I have never taken a course on communications and media, I study applied behavioral science and pre-occupational therapy so this is all new territory for me. To say Ted lost me for a moment in lecture is being generous. This whole concept of “the medium is the message” took a hot minute to click, but once we started to ~dive deep~ it all began to make sense.

When I think about how the delivery of the message affects how we consume it I immediately go to social media.

I remember the release of Instagram when I was in grade school, it was all a platform for my friends and I to share our goofy pictures, it was so exclusive at the time and I never thought it would grow to be the empire it is today.

Now I think about how Instagram is actually a job for some people.

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Each page I have shared above has a different aesthetic. Whether it is lifestyle, travel, or luxury. When you follow these pages you expect a certain type of content to be produced and the creators select content that will flow with the vibe of their page. Most, if not all, of the photos posted are posed and curated for their feed. They benefit off the notion that the medium is the message, they have a built in audience because of what is expected from them.

My goal is to create this with my DA project, a travel instagram. I have been studying how professional Instagramers structure their posts and create this flow that draws people in and keeps them subscribed to their content.

@vegan.onthemove

Travel Instagram focusing on maintaining a vegan lifestyle abroad. 

My goal is to create a space where we can discuss tips and tricks for travel, how to handle culture situations that involve the consumption of products you do not agree with, and reviews of destinations! 

My goal is to curate three posts a week:

1. Experience or destination
2. Agency or product review
3. Tips or advice

I hope by having an audience that really cares about the content, I can get involvement and share others experiences to keep the creative energy flowing! 

If you have anything you want to send in for submission, send a DM to @vegan.onthemove!

• travel guide – tips, tricks, what I have learned (IG Page?) Host other peoples posts to share knowledge, encouragements, negatives experiences, etc.
• to narrow it down – a vegan travel guide as well, places that have the best food, how to stay vegan while traveling, how to prepare for cultural scenarios
• Advocate – page for anyone to share something positive or advocate for a group. There are so many individual support pages for the LGBT community, special needs families, minorities, underprivileged, human trafficking, animals rights, and so much more. Let’s have one source where people can uplift and encourage the advocacy for all under represented populations. I personally advocate a lot for the special needs community but I want to learn how I can do better in other areas! An account that highlights opportunities for advocacy, rallies, events, and ways to get involved in the community.

(She’ll be fine on her own, she’ll be fine on her own)

Buttercup. One of Hippo Campus’ most recognizable songs, and I got to see it performed live as the encore to one of the best shows I have ever been to. Fangirling? Why yes I am.

Last week I attended the Hippo Campus concert at Manning Bar in Sydney with five of my friends and about 100 other indie rock loving souls. It was a small venue which made the intimacy of the concert so cool. I chose to become part of an audience, a group of individuals who share a common interest – Hippo Campus – and gathered to consume some great tunes together.

Why was I there? For the booze.

I’m kidding.

How could I pass up the opportunity to see one of my favorite bands, live, in a small venue, in Australia, during my study abroad? For a girl from small town Iowa it couldn’t get any better than this. (What a cliche, am I right?) Seeing music live beats listening to it online any day. Okay, most of the time. Hippo Campus really exceeded my expectations.

Something really cool I experienced was how ‘here’ the audience was. Yes, people would sneak a shot of the band or record part of their favorite song, but in a society where I am so use to seeing people watch a performance it was cool to see that there was fairly minimal phone use. I was pleasantly surprised by this.

I had to think for a minute, was there any negatives? Then I remembered. By the time we arrived the opening band had already lost the crowds attention, everyone was standing around awkwardly and on their phones, having conversations, and not getting involved with the band’s music or giving it a chance. This immediately gave off the vibe that no one was enjoying the music.

This really shows how much the audience contributes to the success of a performance. All these people gathered because they either know the band or are interested in consuming the music they are about to play. It was just as easy for everyone to get super hyped for Hippo Campus as it was for everyone to ignore the first band.

Thanks for checking out my first blog post pals!

Carson

Enjoy Hippo Campus/Tame Impala/Saint Motel/Glass Animals and other Indie Rock vibes? Drop your recommendations in the comments!